Exteriorly operable lock bolt

ABSTRACT

A lock bolt mounted on a door panel can be projected and retracted by an inside thumb turn or by an outside key or both and can also be projected but not retracted by a finger-operated, outside movable piece.

United States Patent Inventor Manon Kendrick Atherton, Calif.

Appl. No. 821,673

Filed May 5, 1969 Patented July 20, 1971 Assignee Schlage Lock Company EXTERIORLY OPERABLE LOCK BOLT 7 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 70/129, 292/140, 292I336.3, 292/336.5 Int. Cl. E05b 63/00, E05b 33/00, EOSc 1/06 Field of Seareh 292/ 140,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,048,628 I 2/19 12 Woolsey i. 70/129 l,8l3,240 7/1931 Joseph 70/129 Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. Attorney-Lothrop & West AETRACT: A lock bolt mounted on a door panel can be pro jected and retracted by an inside thumb turn or by an outside key or both and can also be projected but not retracted by a finger-operated, outside movable piece.

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Mp8 Wai lrroawn a' PATENTEUJULZOISH 3 593548 SHEET u UF 4 omb W l EXTERIORLY OPERABLE LOCK BOLT Reference is made herein to outside or exterior" and inside or interior." This is primarily for distinguishing between the two sides of a lock unit and corresponds to the usual usage in most practical installations but is not to be considered as a limitation since in some instances there may be different or contrary designations of the'sides of the lock unit.

This application is related in part to a high-security lock mechanism of a sort disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,558, issued to Tornoe et al. on July 2, 1968 and is related in part to U.S. Pat. No. 1,846,364 issued Feb. 23, 1932 to W. R. Schlage, both patents being assigned to Schlage Lock Company, the assignee of this application.

Disclosed in the Tornoe et al. patent is a double plunger lock unit, known in commerce as Schlage Lock Companys G lock unit designed for mounting on a swinging door panel. This lock unit is provided with the usual spring-projected latchbolt controlled by exterior and interior knobs. Likewise this lock unit is provided with a long lock bolt that can be projected and retracted by a key on the exterior of the structure. Also, the lock bolt can be projected and retracted by a thumb turn on the interior of the structure and can be retracted by the interior knob.

Disclosed in the W. R. Schlage patent is a single plunger lock unit, known in commerce as Schlage Lock Company's B lock unit, provided with a reciprocable dead bolt movable between projected and retracted positions by an exterior actuator and an interior actuator.

Although both of these types of lock units have had commercial success, it has developed that some users do not take advantage of the security available by throwing the dead bolt from the exterior side, because this operation requires the finding and insertion of a key and key manipulation. That is, on leaving a room and closing the door from the outside, the user refrains from inserting his key into the exteriorly available lock plug and from rotating the key and plug so as to project the long lock bolt for full security. Many users consider this key use an annoyance and do not take advantage of the extra lock bolt protection.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide on the exterior of the lock unit a means readily operable without a key to make the maximum security of the lock unit quickly and more easily available.

Another object of the invention is to provide, either in con nection with the high-security lock mentioned or with other lock units, a lock bolt which can be projected exteriorly with or without a key but which can be retracted exteriorly only with an appropriate key.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock boIt which can project readily from the exterior but which cannot be retracted from the exterior without a proper key.

Another object of the invention is in general to provide an improved lock bolt manually projectable on the exterior but not manually retractable on the exterior.

A further object of the invention is to provide an exteriorly projectable lock bolt which afiords a cost-saving construction.

Another object of the invention is in general to provide an improved lock unit.

Other objects together with the foregoing are attained in the forms of the invention described in the accompanying description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a cross section on a horizontal plane through a room wall containing a door carrying an exteriorly operable lock bolt of the sort shown in the above-noted W. R. Schlage patent and constructed pursuant to the invention, portions of the showing being diagrammatic and other portions being removed to reduce the size of the figure;

FIG. 2 is an exterior elevation of the structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. I,

FIG. 5 is a detail showing the parts in cross section on a plane indicated by the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view comparable to FIG. 2 but illustrating a form of exteriorly operable lock bolt incorporated with the highsecurity lock of the above-mentioned Tornoe et al. patent;

FIG. 7 is a view showing the interior elevation of the structure ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross section of a detail, the plane being indicated by the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a modified form of my invention, showing a lock unit having a straight line bolt projector, portions being broken away;

Fig. 11 is a cross section, the planes of which are indicated by the lines 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross section on a longitudinal, vertical plane through a door panel having the device as shown in FIG. 10 installed therein, certain parts being shown in side elevation;

FIG. 13 is a detail in cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the line l313 of FIG. 14, and showing a modified form of the device of FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive; and

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the device of FIG. 13, the planes of section being indicated by the lines 1444 of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary view like FIG. 12, modified.

In a representative installation chosen solely for-description herein and without restricting the many uses that may be made of it, one form of the lock mechanism of my invention is mounted on a swinging door panel 6 having one side 7 on a hall, for example, and is arbitrarily designated the exterior side. The other side 8 is within a room, for example, and is arbitrarily designated the interior side. The door panel is mounted by hinges 9 on a frame in a room wall 11. Opposite the hinges the door frame contains a strike box 12 for the reception of a bolt 13 or plunger reciprocable between a projected position, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and a retracted position approximately flush with the edge of the door 6.

The bolt 13 is mounted on a chassis 14, or support, or base or frame, the bolt construction preferably being comparable to that shown in the above-identified W. R. Schlage patent. The chassis 14 is approximately symmetrical about a central plane and can be considered as bilateral. The chassis has a number of stationary parts associated to support and mount the moving parts of the lock unit and includes post and screw connectors 16 and 17 passing through the door panel to relate to an inside escutcheon l8 and to an outside lock mechanism 19 (FIG. 4) the exterior of which is generally circular-cylindrical about an axis 20.

In the lock mechanism 19 there is a rotatable plug 21 designed to receive a key 22 and having a lost motion connector 23 joining the plug 21 to a flat driver bar 24 extending in the direction of the axis 20. An actuating lever 26 (FIG. 3) has one end nonrotatably connected to the driver bar. The other end of the actuating lever 26 engages an extension 27 of the bolt 13. The extent of travel of the lever 26 is approximately one quarter of a turn during travel of the bolt between the fully projected position thereof and the fully retracted position thereof.

As disclosed in the above-mentioned Tornoe et al. patent, an overcenter spring yieldingly urges the bolt 13 into either its fully projected position or its fully retracted position after the bolt has passed the halfway point in either direction. Since the connector 23 includes lost motion and the lever 26 requires a fractional turn for full operation, rotation of the key 22 for a large part of a turn is effective to move the bolt between fully projected and fully retracted positions. There may be additional lost motion connections in the lock unit, but the motion relationship of the rotatable plug 21 and of the lock bolt 13 is usually approximately as stated.

Mounted to turn with respectto the escutcheon 18 is an interior thumb turn 31 having direct engagement with the driver bar 24. By rotating the thumb turn 31 inthe proper directions,

/ the bolt 13 can be manually retracted and projected from the 5 interior side of the panel 6.

Pursuant to the present invention means distinct from the key 22 are provided for operating the bolt 13 from the exterior side 7 of the door panel. However, this distinct means is effective to operate the bolt 13 in one direction only; that is, solely in the projecting or locking direction. Stated differently, the means specially provided exteriorly of the door panel 6 cannot retract the bolt 13.

Surrounding the lock mechanism 19 is a spacer or escutcheon ring 33. This is a functional and ornamental ring, generally circular in exterior configuration, having a plurality of spaced axially directed extensions 34 projecting therefrom and leaving opening between them; Usually there are three extensions 34 situated to lie just behind the standard rim 36 of the lock mechanism 19. The ring 33 or spacer is held firmly in place when the screw and post connectors 16 and 17 are tightened.

Rotatable with respect to the ring 33 and the rim 36 of the lock mechanism and bearing on the cylindrical outer portions of the extensions 34 is a fluted, finger-actuated turn piece 37, The flutes affording a good hand or finger grip. The turn piece 37 has a plurality; for example, three of axially extending bars 38, 39 and 41 interfitting with the extensions 34 of the ring 33 and extending through the openings between the extensions 34 with considerable lost motion so that the turn piece 37 has a limited rotary movement in either direction.

The bars 38 and 39 are axially relatively short, but the bar 41 is substantially elongated completely to underlie the lock mechanism 19. The bar 41 extends inwardly far enough to engage with the lever 42 mounted on the driver bar 24. The lever 42 includes a disc having a rectangular opening fitting nonrotatably on the flat driver bar and also includes an arm 43 with a radial face 44 projecting into the arcuate path of movement of the bar 41. An enlargement 46 on the arm end improves engagement or abutment with a widened tip on the lever 42.

With this arrangement and when the bolt 13 is in projected position (FIG. 3), the enlargement 46 on the bar 41 on the turn piece 37 can rotate through a limited range, all outside the then position of the rotatable arm 43. Rotation of the turn piece 37 as limited by the stationary extensions 34, then has absolutely no effect to retract the lock bolt 13 and simply results in lost motion. However, when the lock bolt 13 is in retracted position, the face 44 of the lever arm 43 lies immediately adjacent the enlargement 46 of the bar 41. Rotation of the turn piece 37 counterclockwise in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5, immediately engages the bar 41 and the lever 42 and rotates the lever in a corresponding counterclockwise direction into the position shown by solid lines in FIGS. 3 and ,5. This is far enough to move the bolt 13 from its fully retracted position to its fully projected position, the overcenter spring assisting the latter part of the travel.

A user can readily project and retract the latchbolt either by the thumb turn 31 on the interior or by the key 22 on the exterior. In addition, by rotating the turn piece 37 on the exterior in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2, the user may with his fingers and without a key fully project the lock bolt 13. But if he tries on the exterior to retract the projected bolt 13 by rotation of the turn piece 37 in an opposite direction his action will avail him nothing. He simply takes up lost motion. All he can do exteriorly to retract the bolt 13 is to use a proper key 22 in the customary fashion. This form of the invention thus provides a lock bolt which can readily be projected from the exterior without the use of a key but which cannot be retracted from the exterior without the use of a key.

In the lock installation illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9 inclusive, the lockset 51 is substantially as disclosed in the aboveidentified Tornoe et al. patent. The lockset includes a lock bolt 52 and an actuating mechanism 53 operable by an interior thumb turn 54 and by an exterior lock plug 56 rotated by a proper key. The actuating mechanism 53 rotates a driver bar 57 engaging the operating mechanism 58 for the bolt 52 in the standard manner.

Pursuant to this invention, there is preferably provided on the bilateral lock chassis 59 a turn piece 61 disposed on the exterior side of the lock unit and including a fluted knob 62 fast on the end of a tube 63. The tube bears on the lock unit chassis so that the turn piece 61 can readily be rotated. Within the chassis 59 there is provided a flange 66 having a cutout portion 67 fonningstops 68 and 69 positioned to abut with a frame rod 71. In this example, the turn piece 61 can operate through approximately a quarter turn.

As shown in FIG. 9, the tube 63 is enlarged adjacent the flange 66 to provide a hub 72 with a lost motion recess 73 therein designed to encompass the projecting end of the driver bar 57. The hub recess has interior projections 74 and 76 providing driver walls with lost motion spaces between them allowing some angular free motion.

In this construction the bolt 52 is operated in the customary way by the standard parts provided, but when the turn piece 61, as seen in FIG. 6, is rotated in a clockwise direction there is only lost motion between the projections 74 and 76 and the driver bar 57'. Consequently such rotation of the turn piece produces no effect on the projected bolt 52. However, should the bolt be in retracted position, then rotation of the turn piece in the proper direction causes the driver walls of the projections 74 and 76 to engage the adjacent sides of the drives bar 57, to rotate the driver bar and thus to project the lock bolt 52 fully.

The full security of the high-security lock is obtained by a person on the exterior of the door simply by rotating the turn piece 61 in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 6) and thus, without the use of a key, fully projecting the bolt. The lock remains secure on the exterior since a subsequent clockwise rotation of the turn piece will not withdraw the bolt. Exteriorly, it is necessary to utilize a key in the plug 56 to produce an unlocking action.

The forms of lock units in FIGS. 1 through 5 and in FIGS. 6 through 9 operate in a similar fashion to project, but not retract, a lock bolt by rotating an operating member on the exterior of the door and without the necessity of using a key.

The exterior bolt operating member need not be rotary. As shown in FIGS. 10 through 12, the environment is the same as described in connection with the FIGS. 1 through 5 embodiment. A door penal 81 has an edge bore 82 receiving a bolt assembly 83 of the sort shown in the W. R. Schlage patent, above noted. The assembly includes a bolt'84 reciprocable in a housing 86. The bolt has an operating extension-87 engageable by the end of a lever 88 rotatably mounted in a housing extension 89. A driver bar 91 turned by a key-actuated plug 92 on the exterior of the door panel operates the lever 88 to project and to retract the bolt 84. The plug 92 is mounted in'a body 93 having mounting posts 94 and 96 extending through and interrelated with the housing extension 89 in the usual way. Key rotation projects and retracts the plunger or bolt 84 from the exterior as is customary.

Pursuant to this form of the invention, the door panel 81 has a second edge bore 101 parallel to the bore 82 and intersecting or breaking out into the bore 82 to provide a single chamber. The end of both bores 82 and 101 is closed by a plate l02-suitably secured in place and solid except for fastening openings and an opening to pass the bolt 84. Within the bore 101 is a lining sleeve 103 of circular cylindrical configuration longitudinally open at the bottom.

A slug 104 is reciprocable within the sleeve 103 and carries a depending prong 106 shaped to extend into the bore 82 and to project through the open end of the bolt extension 87 into abutment with the upper portion of the lever 88. A rod 107 screwed into the slug 104 extends through a slot 108 in the door panel 81 and through acorresponding slot 109 in the sleeve 103 and also through a slot 111 in an escutcheon plate 112 encompassing the body 93 and held against the door panel. An operating knob 113 is situated on the end of the rod 107 and is preferably contoured for easy finger operation.

To project the bolt 84 from the exterior without the use of a key, the user need merely move the knob 113 from right to left, as seen in FIG. 10. Knob motion correspondingly moves the slug 104 so that the prong 106 abuts the lever 88. The

straight line knob and slug motion causes rotation of the lever and corresponding projection of the bolt. However, when the bolt is in projected position, movement of the exterior knob 113 from left to right, in FIG. 10, merely withdraws the prong 106 from contact with the lever, producing lost motion but no bolt retraction. When the bolt is otherwise moved to retracted position, the parts are restored to the relationship shown in FIG. 12.

In some instances, vandals try to force and incapacitate lock units of the sort shown in FIGS. ll through 5, for example, by applying a wrench to the circular turn piece 37 and rotating the turn piece hard enough to break some of the interior parts in the hope that the lock unit will thereby be released. To preclude this misuse and damage, the previously described arrangement, as especially shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, may be augmented, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, by indirectly coupling an exterior, fluted actuating ring 116 to an actuating bar 117, corresponding to the bar 41. The bar 117 and related short projections 118 extend from a detent ring 119 and are interspersed with similar short projections 121 extending from a bearing disc 122 lying against the door panel. An outer bearing ring 123 surrounds the customary body 124 and serves as a support for rotation of the ring 116.

At intervals on the interior of the ring 116 there are depressions 126 engageable by detent pins 127 reciprocably lodged in the detent ring 119 and urged radially outward by springs 128 exerting a predetermined force. This force is sufficient so that all normal motions of the rings 1 16 and l 19 to operate the lock bolt take place in a unitary manner without lost motion. However, should an excessive force be applied, particularly after the interior parts have abutted against stops of have reached the limit of their movement, then further rotation of the outer ring 116 merely produces depression of the detent pins and does not disturb the interior structure. That is, this construction limits the amount of torque that can be applied to the interior workings of the lock unit by the ring 116 so that the outer ring simply freewheels and cannot produce any disruption of or damage to the lock unit.

While a key is usually arranged to provide both projection and retraction of the lock bolt, there are instances in which the key may be effective only as a retracting device. This is arranged, as shown in FIG. 15, by modifying the key associated structure. As asymmetrical driver bar 131, similar to the driver bar 91, engages a cutaway semicircular hub 132 of a lever 133 similar to the lever 88. The hub 132 and the bar 131 thus provide a lost motion connection. When the hub 132 is rotated counterclockwise (in FIG. through a quarter turn, the driver bar is undisturbed. That is, the bolt may be manually projected without involving the key mechanism. When the bolt is in projected position, rotation of the key mechanism in a clockwise direction (in FIG. 15) causes the driver bar 131 to contact the then adjacent hub 132 of the lever 133 and, upon a quarter turn rotation, to retract the bolt. In this way there is provided a lock device in which the bolt projection is by a finger operation only and in which the bolt retraction is by key operation only.

While reference has been made to key operation of the driver bar 131, the actuation of that bar can be by a finger turn so that the bolt projection only is by one finger turn and the bolt retraction only is by another finger turn.

The key operation is usually on the exterior side or" the door panel but sometimes; for example, in a perimeter door of a warehouse, the key operation may be on the interior side and the finger operation may be on either or both sides.

What I claim is:

1. An exteriorly operable lock bolt for mounting on a panel having an interior side and an exterior side comprising a chassis adapted to be connected to said panel, a bolt mounted on said chassis to project and retract, first means on said chassis for projecting and retracting said bolt, said first means including a lock mechanism having an axis, a driver bar extending from said lock mechanism in the direction of said axis, means for connecting said driver bar and said bolt, and secondmeans accessible on the exterior side of said panel for only pro ecting said bolt, said second means including a lever connected to and extending radially from said drive bar and movable in an arcuate path, a turn piece surrounding said lock mechanism, means for mounting said turn piece for rotation about said axis relative to said lock mechanism, and a bar fixed on said turn piece and extending in an axial direction alongside said lock mechanism and in the path of said lever on one side thereof.

2. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said axially extending bar is related to said lever by a lost motion connection.

3. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said second means includes a stop for limiting the rotation of said turn piece.

4. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said lever in said second means is a rotary member, an annular escutcheon ring surrounds said lock mechanism and has an opening in the annular portion thereof, and said bar in said second means extends through said opening and into a lost motion engagement with said rotary member.

5. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said means for connecting includes a member mounted to rotate on said chassis through approximately a quarter of a turn and said axially extending bar is mounted to move on said chassis into engagement with one side only of said lever.

6. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 5 in which said axially extending bar is mounted for rotation about the axis of said lock mechanism.

7. An exteriorly operable lock bolt comprising a bilateral chassis adapted to be mounted on a door panel, a bolt mounted on said chassis to project and retract, a key-actuated device on one side of said chassis, first means connecting said key-actuated device to said bolt for projecting and retracting said bolt, said first means including an overcenter spring for urging said bolt into either its fully projected position or its fully retracted position after said bolt has passed the halfway point in either direction, and second means on said one side of said chassis adjacent said key-actuated device for only projecting said bolt at least through said halfway point. 

1. An exteriorly operable lock bolt for mounting on a panel having an interior side and an exterior side comprising a chassis adapted to be connected to said panel, a bolt mounted on said chassis to project and retract, first means on said chassis for projecting and retracting said bolt, said first means including a lock mechanism having an axis, a driver bar extending from said lock mechanism in the direction of said axis, means for connecting said driver bar and said bolt, and second means accessible on the exterior side of said panel for only projecting said bolt, said second means including a lever connected to and extending radially from said drive bar and movable in an arcuate path, a turn piece surrounding said lock mechanism, means for mounting said turn piece for rotation about said axis relative to said lock mechanism, and a bar fixed on said turn piece and extending in an axial direction alongside said lock mechanism and in the path of said lever on one side thereof.
 2. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said axially extending bar is related to said lever by a lost motion connection.
 3. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said second means includes a stop for limiting the rotation of said turn piece.
 4. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said lever in said second means is a rotary member, an annular escutcheon ring surrounds said lock mechanism and has an opening in the annular portion thereof, and said bar in said second means extends through said opening and into a lost motion engagement with said rotary member.
 5. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 1 in which said means for connecting includes a member mounted to rotate on said chassis through approximately a quarter of a turn and said axially extending bar is mounted to move on said chassis into engagement with one side only of said lever.
 6. An exteriorly operable lock bolt as in claim 5 in which said axially extending bar is mounted for rotation about the axis of said lock mechanism.
 7. An exteriorly operable lock bolt comprising a bilateral chassis adapted to be mounted on a door panel, a bolt mounted on said chassis to project and retract, a key-actuated device on one side of said chassis, first means connecting said key-actuated device to said bolt for projecting and retracting said bolt, said first means including an overcenter spring for urging said bolT into either its fully projected position or its fully retracted position after said bolt has passed the halfway point in either direction, and second means on said one side of said chassis adjacent said key-actuated device for only projecting said bolt at least through said halfway point. 